Beer: Reviews & Ratings

I had this beer tonight at a restaurant where i live. Me and Mrs. Brabander went out for a bite. I asked the waitress for the tapbeers and she mentioned this one. I can remember i had this on from the bottle and that was not really a success. This tapversion was different!

Poured in the original chalice the beers looks very well. Nice one finger head and a black fluid. Roasted malts all over the place but in a decent way.

Easy drinkable with hints of chocolate (Very far away in the taste). A totally different beer on tap! (529 characters)

A: Poured into two snifter glasses... the first pour had a moderate, off-white head that diminished quickly to a thin ring. Body is dark copper and very clear. The second pour yielded a lot of sediment... so much so that the beer was literally plopping into the glass like spoiled milk. Not pleasant.

S: Yeasty and a bit bready, with a hint of alcohol. Slightly sweet.

T: Quite sweet, even more so than the smell lets on. A little bready from the malt. Slight alcohol warmth on the finish.

M: Light-moderate body, moderate carbonation, and quite creamy.

D: Not a bad Belgian Dark, but not exceptional either. Probably wouldn't rush out to get it again. (656 characters)

D: An easy drinking Belgian Dark for the winter time, post Christmas I guess now. De Koninck always makes very drinkable ales out of Antwerp and this one is no different. Glad I got to try another one, since the only beer I've ever seen from this brewery is the common Pale. (643 characters)

Pours from the tap into a tulip glass to an orange brown with very light edge coloration. Only a little head that goes away quickly.

Very little aroma: a bit of spice, alcohol, raisin, sourness and hints of malt. But all very faint.

It definitely has saison/bready/wild yeast flavor but extremely balanced in the light malt flavor. It i only verly lightly spiced and I can taste nutmeg,clove and ginger. I had it with snowcrab legs and the initial sour/funkiness vanishes into an alluring pear like sweetness with seafood.

Despite the unusual flavors that come through it is very drinkable and light in the mouth. (616 characters)

It pours a nice amber color and the aroma is definitely sweet, like one would expect from a candy factory. The initial taste has flavors of fruits such as cherries, pears and maybe even some raisins. Finishes with a lingering aftertaste of spices but not overwhelmingly so. The carbonation is a bit thin so one tends to drink it a bit faster than most Belgians but overall has favorable drinkability. (400 characters)

A- Poured from the tap with a 1/2" creamed-coffee-colored head, which slowly dissipated to reveal some nice lacing. The body was the same color as Grade-A Amber Maple Syrup, and exhibited some occasional coarse bubble working their way up the sides of the glass.

S- Smells of Belgian yeast, caramel malt, burnt candy sugar... and a distinct nutiness emerged as the beer warmed. Restrained aromas of nutmeg were also playing in the background.

T- The taste begins as a replicate of the nose: Belgian yeast, caramel malt, burnt candy sugar, a pronounced nuttiness and nutmeg. But there is also a clear indication of fusel alcohol here... a distinct boozy flavor that you wouldn't expect from a 6.5% ABV brew. The finish is long and lingers with hints of stone fruit.

M- Medium body... reasonably attenuated... and a soft carbonation. Not bad, but nothing to write home about in the mouthfeel department.

D- This beer is quite drinkable... but the fusel alcohols are a bug turn-off, and make me fear an oncoming hangover! (1,022 characters)

A- this one pours a copper/amber colored body with a moderately sized fluffy white head. the head lasts a little bit before becoming a skin on the top of my glass. random spots of lacing are left wherever it has been.

S- sweet fruity malts. cherries and raisins mostly. not much on the spices which i thought were a staple for a winter beer.

T- just as subdued as the smell. overly sweet cherries, raisins, and pears. cant really find any of the spices in here. not what i was expecting at all.

M- light bodied with a high level of carbonation. a little thin.

D- nothing offensive here, but nothing great either. pretty bland and weak. i doubt ill ever give this one another chance. (747 characters)

A nice effort but a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for more spice, a bigger mouthfeel, and a dark-- almost black-- color.Instead, the beer is a copper brown with a thin head and plenty of carbonation.The flavors are muted but very pleasant. Lots of sweetness, a hint of bitterness, a nice yeast. No spice notes or other flavors that I could detect, yet the glass was empty in no time.For now I'll stick to the "Blond Koninck", though. (444 characters)

Appearance - pours a muddy reddish brown. A thin froth of light brown foam creates a temporary cap, dropping quickly back to a patchy cover and a solid collar.

Aroma - candyish (due to the candi sugar no doubt), some estery vapors here and there. Picked up some light fruitiness and occasional clove and/or allspice.

Taste - the general sweetness of the beer assists with the early grain presence. A diluted cherry juice flavor, chased by some mild alcohol smack and vague but detectable hops. The swallow is fairly drying, with a decent aftertaste of the sugar and the hops.

Mouthfeel - about average body, maybe a touch thin. Carbonation is understated.

A nice drinking Belgian. Some spice yeasty malty aroma and that's in the taste, along with sugar. Cellared for a year or so. Very much sweet dessert, went fast. Whitish body with good head. Above average mouthfeel from creamy caramel. Some cinammon. (249 characters)

I expected a lot more from this beer, coming from the belgian world. It's much lighter looking and tasting than you would expect for this style. It gives you the belgian yeast flavors, but not much malt to back it up. I suppose the relatively low abv is the problem as a Belgian Dark should have more complexity, not bad just a slight bit better than an average american brewer would make this. Pass. Although I'm really intrigued by lower alcohol beers, this one is a disappointment. (484 characters)

One of the several bottles of Christmas or "Kerst" beers I brought back from Belgium.

Kind of an amber brown in the glass with a thin ivory head. Some floaties in the beer, doesn't look like yeast but more like coagulated protein. Not so appetizing! Fruity maltiness and an earthy, yeasty aroma. Prunes and baked apples with just a hint of oakiness.

Earthy and spicy in the mouth, a bitterness in the finish. Cinnamon and clove is prominent and a sweetness that hints at candy sugar used in the brewing process. More candy sugar in the finish, a mild bitterness accompanies the sweetness in the finish.

Man, a lot of spice in this ale! Fruity, sweet and spicy pretty much sums it up. (688 characters)

330mL bottle, best before date stamped on back, poured into De Koninck chalice.

Pours a deep red-brown amber colour with two fingers of dense white head produced. Head sinks to a thin ring, leaves a fair bit of lacing on the glass.

Nose is medicinal, funky sweet fruit. Weird.

Taste is all cherry cough syrup. Medicinal through and through. I can't detect anything but thick medicine-like cloying sweetness.

Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, medium-low carbonation. Clean finish, which is a relief.

This beer is pretty horrible. It doesn't stay with you, which is its one redeeming feature, but it's not pleasant on the palate. I guess I didn't choke it down, but wasn't nice. I will be avoiding this one in the future. (718 characters)

A. Poured from a 750 ml. bomber into a Chimay chalice. Head retention is poor and no lacing. Reddish brown in color.

S. Very faint, some malts, some sweetness.

T. Lacking in the taste category, it almost tastes like nothing. I thought it was a bit too cold so I let it warm up a bit, and that did very little. A bit of apple and a solid whiff of alcohal as it warms. Not impressed.

M. Medium bodied and a bit chewey.

D. Very drinkable, just not memorable.

Overall: Dissapointed to say the least. I thought a Christmas Ale by a belgian style brewery would be a sure fire hit. Indeed I was wrong. Good thing I split this with a friend. (638 characters)

Had this on tap at in de wilderman while in Amsterdam. -Dark amber color, lazy lacing that doesn't last.-Sweet nose (affected by newly arrived smokers)-Very smooth taste. starts with candy sugar, then evolves to hop bitterness, and finishes with an other wave of sweetness.-Very smooth, very drinkable. (306 characters)